BIBLOSNOTES "Which is the first commandment of all?" LESSON-SERMON: DOCTRINE OF ATONEMENT, OCTOBER 19, 2014 The Markan account is much fuller than the others, has far more detail, and is far more in the nature of a narrative: it is difficult to resist the conclusion that we have here an eyewitness account (AYB Mark 478). Mark 12:28-34 (to 1st.) 28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? Scribe is grammateus in Greek which means a man learned in the Mosaic law and in the sacred writings, an interpreter, teacher (Thayer 1122, Accordance). A question debated by the Jewish schools. The best Jewish opinion coincided with our Lord s... (Dummelow 698). Mark seems to suggest that the question asked by the teacher of the law, in contrast to many that had been asked by his colleagues, was a sincere one. He had been impressed by Jesus answer to the previous question and so ventured one of his own. The rabbis counted 613 individual statutes in the law, 365 which were negative and 248 positive. Attempts were made to differentiate between the heavy, or great, and the light, or little, commandments (EBC 8.737). 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: In answer to the question, Jesus quoted two passages from the OT (Deut 6:4-5; Lev 19:18). Deuteronomy 6:4 is central to the Shema, named after the first word of the verse, which means Hear (v.29). In Hebrew liturgy Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21; and Numbers 15:37-41 comprise the Shema. Deuteronomy 6:4-5 is a confession of faith that is recited by pious Jews every morning and evening. It basically affirms two things: (1) the unity of God ( the Lord is one ) and (2) the covenant relationship of God to the Jewish 2014-10-14 1/5 "Which is the first commandment of all?"
people ( the Lord our God ). In telling this story only Mark included Deuteronomy 6:4 here. Its relationship to the words that follow is important. God is to be loved completely and totally (v. 30) because he, and he alone, is God and because he has made a covenant of love with his people. In the covenant God gives himself totally in love to his people; therefore he expects his people to give themselves totally ( soul, mind, and strength ) in love to him (EBC 8.737). THE SHEMA (Heb. sûeïma) The foundational statement of Jewish belief: Hear, O Israel, Yahweh our God, Yahweh is one (Deut. 6:4). The name derives from the first Hebrew word in the verse, the command to hear. The declaration that Yahweh is one rules out local manifestations of Yahweh, but also connotes Yahweh s exclusiveness. Thus, although alone is an inaccurate translation of Heb. ehaœd ( one ), the assertion of unity contains within it the idea of uniqueness. In Hebrew manuscripts, the last letters of the first and last words are written larger than the others to form the word eäd ( witness ), reflecting the verse s testimony to the uncompromising monotheism of Judaism. It has been the final utterance of Jewish martyrs throughout history. The prayer came to include Deut. 6:4-9; 11:13-21; Num. 15:37-41, and is recited in the morning and evening (cf. Deut. 6:7). The text of Deut. 6:4-9 is placed inside phylacteries, bound to the forehead and arm during prayer, and in a mezuzah attached to the entrance of houses (cf. vv. 8 9). Jesus identified Deut. 6:5 as the greatest commandment (Mark 12:29) (Eerdmans Dictionary, Accordance). Hear in Greek is akouo which means to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, to attend to, to understand perceive the sense of what is said, to perceive by the ear what is announced in one s presence (to hear immediately) (Thayer 191, Accordance). Hear in Hebrew is shema which means to hear intelligently with attention, obedience; to give ear (Strong 8085, Accordance). The Lord our God. Literally, Jehovah, our God, is one Jehovah. The other nations worshipped many gods, but the God of the Jews was one, and one only. Jehovah was undivided; and this great truth it was the design of the separation of the Jewish people from other nations to keep in mind. This was the peculiar truth which was communicated to the Jews, and this they were required to keep and remember for ever (Barnes 170). 2014-10-14 2/5 "Which is the first commandment of all?"
30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. Heart, soul, mind, i.e. all one s powers. Heart in Hebrew is the inward man, sometimes the understanding; soul is life, often, but not always, physical life; mind is nearly the same as reason, or rational soul. It must here be understood as embracing spirit, i.e. the religious faculty (Dummelow 698). They were to love God totally (v.5). The exhortation to love with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength is not a study in faculty psychology. It is rather a gathering of terms to indicate the totality of a person s commitment of self in the purest and noblest intentions of trust and obedience toward God. The verse does not invite analysis into ideas of intellectual, emotional, and physical parts. The words behind heart, soul, and strength basically relate to what a person is or how a person directs himself toward another person. It is, therefore, not inaccurate for the NT writers to quote (or translate) the Hebrew words, which are often synonymous, by differing Greek words, which are also often synonymous, since the words taken together mean to say that the people are to love God with their whole selves. The covenant-treaty itself, based on the love of God for his people, required their love for the Lord in return (EBC, Accordance). Heart is kardia in Greek which means the seat of physical life, the center and seat of spiritual life the soul or mind, the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, affections, endeavors; all things done from the heart sincerely, truly without pretense (Thayer 2588, Accordance). Soul is psuche in Greek which means the breath of life; the vital force which animates the body and shows itself in breathing; the seat of the feelings, desires, affections (Thayer 5590, Accordance). Mind is dianoia in Greek which means the mind as the faculty of understanding, feeling, desiring; understanding; way of thinking and feeling thought (Thayer 1271, Accordance). Deut. 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: Deut. 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. They were required to love God above all other beings or things, and with all the 2014-10-14 3/5 "Which is the first commandment of all?"
faculties of their minds (Barnes 170). 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. Jesus brought Leviticus 19:18 together with Deuteronomy 6:5 to show that love of neighbor is a natural and logical outgrowth of love of God. These two commandments belong together; they cannot be separated. Thus although the teacher of the law had asked for the one most important commandment, Jesus gave him two. In Leviticus 19:18 the neighbor is identified as one of your people, i.e., fellow Israelites. The Jews of Jesus day interpreted fellow Israelites even more narrowly than the OT passage; for there (cf. Lev 19:34) it included resident aliens, whereas for Jesus contemporaries it included only Jews and full proselytes. Jesus redefined the term to mean anyone with whom we have dealings at all (EBC 8.737). Lev. 19:18...but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD. 32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: 33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. Is more than all. is of more importance and value (Barnes 170). 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. Thou who dost prefer the internal to the external worship of God who hast so just a view of the requirements of the law canst easily become a follower of me, and art almost fit to be numbered among my disciples. This shows that a proper understanding of the Old Testament, of its laws and requirements, would prepare the mind for Christianity and fit a man at once to embrace it when presented (Barnes 170). Sources: The Anchor Yale Bible: Mark. Introduction, translation and commentary by C.S. Mann. New York: Doubleday, 1986. Barnes, Albert. Barnes Notes on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1962. Dummelow, J. R., ed. A Commentary on the Holy Bible. Harrington Park: Sommer. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Ed. David Noel Freedman. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000. Cited by Accordance Bible Study Collection. 2014-10-14 4/5 "Which is the first commandment of all?"
The Expositor s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke. Ed. Frank E. Gaebelein et al. Vol. 8. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984. Strong, James. Strong s Exhaustive Concordance. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987. Cited by Accordance Bible Study Collection (software). Thayer, Joseph Henry, trans. The New Thayer s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1981. Cited by Accordance, Bible Study Collection (software). Abbreviation key: AYB = The Anchor Yale Bible EBC = The Expositor s Bible Commentary 2014-10-14 5/5 "Which is the first commandment of all?"